I just got a new Macbook and want to know if I should leave the battery in the machine if I will most of the time be running on AC power.
I left it in on the Dell book that I have to use at the office and now it hold a charge for about 20 minutes after less that 12 months of life.
Many thanks, Colin
On 2007-06-01 09:51:28 -0500, TheZete thezete@redacted.invalid said:
I just got a new Macbook and want to know if I should leave the battery in the machine if I will most of the time be running on AC power.
I left it in on the Dell book that I have to use at the office and now it hold a charge for about 20 minutes after less that 12 months of life.
You should follow Apple's guidelines for battery care:
<http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html>
In your case, this quote from the page applies:
"If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month. Need a reminder? Add an event to your desktops iCal."
In article 1180709488.343632.175230@redacted.invalid, TheZete thezete@redacted.invalid wrote:
I just got a new Macbook and want to know if I should leave the battery in the machine if I will most of the time be running on AC power.
I left it in on the Dell book that I have to use at the office and now it hold a charge for about 20 minutes after less that 12 months of life.
Many thanks, Colin
You can leave it in. You should probably go through a charge cycle (let it drain and then recharge it) every few weeks or so. This is easy enough to do at your desk, of course. Just pull the power cable, keep working as usual, and plug it back in when it says the battery is low.
TheZete wrote:
I just got a new Macbook and want to know if I should leave the battery in the machine if I will most of the time be running on AC power.
I left it in on the Dell book that I have to use at the office and now it hold a charge for about 20 minutes after less that 12 months of life.
Many thanks, Colin
Internal oxidation ruins these batteries. They oxidize faster if warm and fully charged. Yours will last longer if you run it down to 38% and keep it in the refrigerator. It should not be frozen.
Apple recommends discharging a laptop battery monthly. That's not to help the battery. It's to recalibrate the gage in case you need to know how much charge you have left.